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Cathy Smith Bowers
Cathy Smith Bowers (born 1949) is an American poet and academic. She served as the 6th Poet laureate of North Carolina, 2010-2012. Life Youth and education Bowers was born in the town of Lancaster, South Carolina. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1972 and a master's degree in 1976 (both in English) from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. In 1984, Bowers also attended the International Graduate Summer School at Exeter College at the University of Oxford. Career Bowers is an instructor in poetry in the M.F.A. program in Creative Writing at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina. She has been an instructor at Queens since 1983. Bowers' poetry has appeared in various magazines and journals including the Atlantic Monthly, Georgia Review, Poetry, Southern Review, and Kenyon Review. She has 5 collections of poetry published: Bowers' essay "A Moment of Intensity" was featured in Poet’s Market, 2007. Private life Bowers lives in Tryon, North Carolina. She "always wears flats" because she stands 6 feet tall already. Writing Many of the major events in her life work their way into Bower's poetry, such as being estranged from her father; having a brother die of AIDS, as well as another of drug and alcohol abuse; and having her 2nd husband commit suicide. Recognition In 2010, North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue appointed Bowers as the 6th North Carolina Poet laureate, succeeding Kathryn Stripling Byer. Awards and honors Bowers' awards and honors include: * 1990 – General Electric Foundation Award for Young Writers * 2002 – J.B. Fuqua Distinguished Educator Award, Queens University * 2006, 2007 – Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Award, North Carolina Poetry Society * 2010–2012 – North Carolina Poet Laureate * 2011 – Savannah Book Festival, guest author Publications Poetry * The Love That Ended Yesterday in Texas: Poems. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 1992. * Traveling in Time of Danger .Oak Ridge, TN: Iris Press, 1999. * A Book of Minutes. Oak Ridge, TN: Iris Press, 2004. * The Candle I Hold Up To See You. Oak Ridge, TN: Iris Press, 2009. * Like Shining from Shook Foil: Selected poems. Winston-Salem, NC: Press 53, 2010. *''Collected Poems'' (edited by Fred Chappell). Winston-Salem, NC: Press 53, 2013. Non-fiction *''Soul's Labyrinth: Caring for the soul through poetry'' (with Robert Lee Hadon). Charlotte, NC: Haden Institute, 1996. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Cathy Smith Bowers, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Dec. 27, 2015. See also *List of U.S. poets References External links ;Poems *Cathy Smith Bowers at the Poetry Foundation *Six Poems by Cathy Smith Byers at StorySouth ;Audio / video *Cathy Smith Bowers at YouTube ;About *Cathy Smith Bowers at North Carolina Literary Trails Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:Poets from South Carolina Category:American women poets Category:People from Lancaster, South Carolina Category:People from Polk County, North Carolina Category:Poets Laureate of North Carolina Category:Queens University of Charlotte faculty Category:Winthrop University alumni Category:Writers from North Carolina Category:20th-century poets Category:20th-century women writers Category:21st-century poets Category:21st-century women writers Category:American poets Category:American women writers Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Women poets Category:American academics